Washington sophomore Dack Punke has qualified for U.S. Greco-Roman team

WASHINGTON — Greco-Roman style wrestling has already taken Dack Punke all over the country.

At age 15, it's hard to say how far he'll go in the sport, but he's about to see some of the world, too.

The Washington High School sophomore has earned a spot on the USA Greco-Roman World Team, which will compete in the FILA World Wrestling Cadet Championships on July 15-20 in Snina, Slovakia.

'A couple years ago, my coach asked me if I'd like to try something new,' said Punke, who finished third in the Class 2A state wrestling championships (106-pound class) in February. 'He introduced me to Greco style wrestling. To be honest, I didn't like it at first. It had very different techniques and strict rules. But now it's my favorite style, no question.'

Greco-Roman style wrestling forbids holds below the waist, the major difference from freestyle wrestling. The emphasis is on throws, because a wrestler cannot use trips to take an opponent to the ground, or avoid throws by hooking or grabbing the opponent's leg.

Punke, who wrestles in the 46 kg weight class (101.25 pounds), won the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Cadet Nationals at Akron, Ohio, in May to gain his place on the USA team.

'To get on the USA Greco World Team, you have to win national trials, which I did,' said the 5-foot-5 Punke, who beat California's Cade Olivas, the bronze medal winner in the 2013 Worlds. 'The team has 12 weight classes on it. I wouldn't be here without my coach, Bryan Medlin. He is by far one of the best coaches in the nation, maybe the world for Greco.

'He's so experienced, picked up so much information. He's shown me a lot of shortcuts to my techniques, speeded up my learning.'

Punke trains daily. He travels all over the country — matches mostly come from independent clubs because high schools don't really wrestle in Greco style.

'I went to the U.S. Olympic Education Center at Northern Michigan University after school was out in the spring,' Punke said. 'We trained for a week there with a national team from France, and some other foreign wrestlers. It was a great experience.

'Then we went to the Illinois National Greco team camp. Then in June we went to a national duals tournament in (Daytona Beach) Florida, where Team Illinois won the Freestyle and Greco divisions.

'After Florida, coach sent me to Oklahoma State to train at the wrestling facility there.

'My next goal is to get the gold medal at the Worlds in Slovakia.'

He'll see more of the world in August, as he has been selected to the USA Junior Olympic squad that will compete in Nanjing, China on Aug., 25-27.

Page 2 of 2 - 'I've always loved wrestling,' Punke said. 'With Greco, I love the techniques, the details of the sport. It's so precise. I'm doing what I want to do, it's an exciting time and I plan to stay committed to it.

'You have to train hard. Every day. If you know what you want to do, get out there and do it. Non-stop.'

Dave Eminian can be reached at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @icetimecleve.